Tragic death of five sanitation workers has once again started the blame game and the age old alibi of passing the bucks. All concerned agencies are trying to wash their hands of and are trying to shirk away from their responsibilities. Amid the blame game, what still remains to be answered is that who is to be held accountable for the loss of five lives? What are the solutions to avoid such incidents? Why are they forced to clean sewer lines without putting on safety gears despite the fact that Delhi had witnessed 10 deaths of sewage workers due to the negligence of the civic authorities in 2017?
Every year, manual scavengers die, asphyxiated by poisonous gases owing to the criminal apathy of the government agencies. The death of five manual scavengers in Delhi on Sunday (September 10) testifies to this grim reality.
The Delhi Bhartiya Janata Party has blamed the Aam Aadmi Party, which in turn announced an investigation into the matter. Yet, experience suggests that even after a detail investigation and providing compensation to the families of the men but the actual working conditions of those who have to clean Delhi's sewers are improbable to change.
President of Swatantra Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukt Morcha Sanjay Gahlot said in absence of essential safety equipments, sanitation workers are forced to work in such inhuman condition. Only 10 per cent workers survive till their retirement age and many of them suffer from diseases and quit, others die, he said.
“Most of the workers are associated with the corporations on contracts basis and never paid on time by the civic bodies. In these circumstances, they are hired by the private contractors to clean sewer lines without wearing any protection for merely Rs 700- 800 in a day.
Though prohibited by the Supreme Court in 2014, manual scavenging practice continues unabated in the city. The failure in implementing the ban on manual scavenging and rehabilitating those engaged in such inhuman practice are still dying and with no succor in near future.
Drain cleaner Subhash Jeenwal, associated with the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), told The Pioneer that he felt an acute sense of humiliation every time he has to go down sewers to clear blocked drains: “We enter these drains risking our lives, many a time without adequate safety equipment, and we take off our clothes before doing it. We never got any safety equipment to protect ourselves from these hazardous fumes. We are doing this job to run our families,” said Jeenwal in hush tone adding that what else he can do because from his childhood days he only know this job.
Many sanitation workers in Delhi still go down into the innards of the city's sewage system daily without any safety equipment despite the Delhi Government having announced a blanket ban on manual cleaning of sewers with a warning that anyone found violating the rule will be booked under IPC provisions relating to culpable homicide.